Vanderbilt Professor Nominated for Prestigious NAACP Image Award for Work on Underrepresented Gifted Students

A new book that focuses on the plight of culturally diverse gifted students, written by award-winning author and researcher Donna Y. Ford, was recently named a nominee for the 45th NAACP Image Awards in the category of Outstanding Literary Work--Instructional, bringing national attention to the need for schools to better identify and serve these students.

"The honor is less about my work than it is about the Hispanic and Black students’ whose lives have been affected due to lack of access to gifted education opportunities.”--Donna Y. Ford, on her book, which was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award

Austin, TX (PRWEB) January 31, 2014

Prufrock Press author Donna Y. Ford was recently announced as a nominee for the 2014 NAACP Image Awards in the Outstanding Literary Work—Instructional category for her 2013 book, "Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education."

"Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education" presents a passionate call to better identify culturally different gifted students and includes a unique equity formula that districts can adopt to make sure their students are equitably represented in gifted services. Ford, an award-winning author and researcher in the fields of gifted and multicultural/urban education, is the Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Ford noted that the book’s recognition showcases “the urgent issue and crisis of underrepresentation among Black and Hispanic students in gifted education. The honor is less about my work than it is about the Hispanic and Black students’ whose lives have been affected due to lack of access to gifted education opportunities.”

“I’m incredibly proud of Dr. Ford and this prestigious recognition of her work,” Joel McIntosh, publisher of Prufrock Press, added. “More importantly, I’m thrilled that the nomination will bring more attention to the need to serve gifted Black and Hispanic students. Dr. Ford’s work is a clarion call for U.S. schools to do a better job of identifying and educating these top students.”

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature, and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. The Image Award winners will be announced at the 45th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, which will air on TV One on February 22. Voting is open to NAACP members until February 14.

Prufrock Press Inc., now the nation’s leading publisher for gifted, advanced, and special needs learners, was established in 1988 to fill the much-needed void of materials in gifted education. The extensive list of Prufrock Press materials includes textbooks, teaching guides, books for parents and teachers, activity books, and journals in gifted education for teachers, administrators, parents, researchers, and students.

For more information about Prufrock Press or to view sample pages and chapters from its award-winning books, please visit http://www.prufrock.com.